Coffee, Speedos, Flu Shots

It was coffee with the mom's of our boys, then trying to find practice speedos for Tony and coordinating flu shots; which the latter fell by the wayside and will be picked up on the 12th or 13th. I worry daily that they have a warm coat, hat, scarf and gloves. But I worry most about David since he is overseas and getting anything to him constitutes an incredible feat. I worry that they both have enough money not to worry, that they will find their way home through all the connecting flights, that they will be safe and most importantly happy with their choice.

I worry because that is what a Mom does.

Empty Nesters

We will be truly empty nesters in less than thirty days. We have wondered about the days of flying solo. Not having to coordinate cars, or when will we ever have a dinner together, are your clothes clean and do we ever have enough food in the house. We are embarking on chicken breasts for two and a small salad. And four months from now I will be given the chance to embarrass my sons with the biggest bear hug known to motherhood.

So Skype is in place, I am warming up my thumbs to text message, my email account is razor sharp and hopefully there will be a response from the other end. But if there is not that is okay because no news is good news. And that means my boys are also flying solo.

Will Joe Know

I miss Joe every day. But I miss him so much more when it is time to send Tony and David off to school. This year it is off to college and not back to the comfortable shoe of McCallie. This is new territory. We have had to navigate UK Student Visas, pages and pages of athletic forms, finding a black suit, a tuxedo shirt, dress shoes, ordering athletic clothes for Tony, producing student Id's and in the end realizing boots were in order.

It sounds like a whirlwind, and it is, but I miss Joe because it reminds me of sending him off to Penn. How he said I have everything I need, how I knew he needed more and how we saw him at Penn State for a water polo tournament and then he said I am cold. And how we shopped for his Northface, and the Greens bought him the hat and gloves, and we wrapped him in the warmth of thermal shirts.

I wanted Joe to see his brothers off, give them advice and tell them what to expect. That was my dream but the reality is different.

Joe and Joey

Joe never left his room on the 7th tower the first go around and it was impossible to ask him to leave his room the second time. But there was a young boy at the end of the hall called Joey. He was diagnosed with neuroblastoma and for some reason Joe wanted to meet him. They found out their names were the same "Joseph Michael". They discovered they shared love of cartoons and Joey was the only patient Joe ever visited. We have recently learned Joey has relapsed for the third time. Joe would have been upset now as he was when he knew about the second relapse.

Cancer patients are a funny lot, they find a friend, a confidant, an advocate; all in the name of surviving, all in the name of being normal. But in most cases it is about connecting with the kid down the hall.

It Just Hit Me....

Transferring college funds, applying for a UK Visa, completing twelve pages of student athlete health forms, looking for boots and coats on line: It just hit me Tony and David will be gone in the fall. We will not have the comfort of McCallie. It will be Christmas before I lay my eyes on these two amazing boys. And this house will be very quiet. Even though my boys went to boarding school, we are entering the phase of empty nesters. We will not be making the six hour trek to McCallie every couple of weeks, we may never know their friends as well as we did in high school, or the parents. But they will be off and starting their future with the best foundation we could offer.

And if Joe was here he would offer a few cryptic words of advice, a hug, a "see you soon" and then a glance over his shoulder as he always did for his brothers. Just one more look before they would disappear around the corner. He would be so proud of them. We are so proud of them.

Joedance 2011

If it is the first weekend in August then it is the Joedance Film Festival at the 10th Street Townhouses. It takes most of us to pull it together. Dave Park does the DVD/sound system, we do the hot dogs, Mollie does the popcorn. Every movie is screened and reviewed by us and then Julie Marr miraculously produces a spectacular flyer announcing the movies.

And you all came rain or shine. The first night was in our house and the second night was outside under a very cloudy night and unbearable humidity. But you came to raise money for The Rare and Complex Cancer Fund, which needs funds so desperately. We were dealt the hand of cards of osteosarcoma with Joe, a rare cancer, hard to survive and has very little funds for research. We appreciate every dollar donated to this cause. And over the years a less severe way to treat osteosarcoma may be available. And maybe there will be one less mom sitting in a parking lot as I did trying to figure out how to save their son's life. That is my hope.

Minneapolis

There is a time in everyone's life when everything is working on all cylinders. Your family, your career, your friends, your hair, your shoes (ok that is for us girls) are perfectly aligned. Before our boys came along, which was our second perfect cylinder phase, that was Minneapolis. We were young and just starting our careers with all the energy that comes with young thirty somethings. No downturn in the economy phased us since we had our whole life ahead of us.

Fast forward to a reunion in Minneapolis this weekend with two different agencies where I had worked. Interesting that many of them created and recreated themselves over the past years. Finding ways to stay employed in a business that almost always cuts back in hard economic times. Even with them finding their way outside the stiffness of the corporate world their creativity was never lacking. I found myself, as I do with my friend Julie; who by the way has more creative thoughts in her baby finger than anyone I know; in refreshing climate. There is just something about these advertising folk. Nothing much gets them down, and even if it does you would never know because they are always working on the next big idea. Simply put that is what I love about them and thank you for having me in your world for I was just a less than creative media buyer.